Type-writing machine



(No Model.) 7 2 Sheets-Sl1eet 1.

D. C. BORUPP.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE. No. 444,119. Patented Jan.6,1891.

lm-Limos 0o I Q avwemfoz (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

D. C. BORUFP.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE. No. 444,119. Patented Jan. 6, 1891.

- f-UNITED STATE S PATENT Fries.

DANIEL O. BORUFF, OF BEDFORD, INDIANA.

TYPE-WRITING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 444,119, dated January 6, 1891.

Application filed March 7, 1890. Serial No. 343,015. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DANIEL C. BORUFF, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bedford, in the county of Lawrence and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Type-Writer, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to type-writers, more especially of that class which are constructed without a base and are adapted to rest upon a flat sheet of paper or book, whereby writing may be done thereon or therein by the machine; and the invention consists, broadly speaking, of supports at each side of the frame, means for adjusting said supports higher or lower on the sheets and in the frame, slotted bars connecting the forward and rear ends of said supports, and means for moving the frame of the type-writer longitudinally upon said bars in a step-by-step motion as the keys are depressed.

In carrying out this general idea the invention further consists of certain details of construction, as shown in the drawings and described in the following specification.

Referring to the said drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of my machine complete. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view. Fig. 4: is a detail perspective view of the spacing mechanism. Fig.

5 is a plan of the inking-reservoir with a portion of its top broken away.

The letter F designates the frame, which carries the basket B below it by any suitable means, as by the hangers B, depending from the frame and connected at their lower end with the basket-ringB", and within thisbasket are pivoted the type-levers T, carrying type at their upper ends, and which are adapted to be thrown downwardly around their pivotal points for the purpose of making an impression on the book or fiat piece of paper through the ribbon R.

The letter K designates the key-levers having keys is at their front ends. Rods T connect these levers with the type-bars at points 2?, as well known in the art. It will also be understood that the frame F carries suitable mechanism for moving the ribbon, all as more fully described below.

Coming now to the present invention the letter S designates a pair of supports arranged ratchet-wheels 10.

one at each side of the frame and adapted to hear at their lower faces upon the flat piece of paper or the book in which it is desired to write. The upper faces of these supports, at their centers, are provided with upwardlyextending toothed bars .9, which project through holes in side bars 1, arranged along the two sides of the frame F, and pawlsPare pivoted in said side bars I and adapted to make engagement with certain of the teeth in the upright bars or rods 5 for the purpose of supporting the side bars at any desired height above the side supports S. The latter are provided at their front ends with small wheels IV, whose peripheries are provided with a number of narrow flat faces, each being as broad as half the distance it is desired to have between the lines of writing, and the journals of these wheels extend to one side of the supports S and are provided with Upon the outer ends of these journals line-levers L are pivoted, and these levers have projections engaging the teeth of the ratchet-wheels, whereby the latter may be rotated to turn the wheels W a full space or a half-space, as is desired, the linelevers being retained in normal position by coiled springs Z, as shown in Fig. 2.

The forward and rear ends of the side bars I are provided with inwardly-projecting lateral slotted bars 0 O, the latter 0 being connected to the forward ends of the side bars and provided with teeth on their under faces, as shown. These bars are so arranged that their inner ends shall pass by each other, and between said lapping inner ends I locate the supplemental lateral bars 0 and 0, the latter being provided with teeth on its lower edge the same as are the forward slotted bars 0.

Each end of each of the supplemental bars is provided with a lug G, projecting through the slots in the adjacent slotted bars 0, whereby the latter may be slid inwardly or drawn outwardly alongside the supplemental bars, and the three bars at both front and rear of the machine will thus telescope, as it were. These lateral bars extend beneath the By this arrangemcnt of devimxs it will be seen that the basket B may be adjusted higher or lower from the paper or book upon which it is desired to print, that the frame F, and with it the basket B, may slide laterally upon the entire supporting frame-work, and that the latter, when desired, can be telescoped, so as to bring the side bars I close up against the sides of the frame F and the supports S close up under said side bars, whereby the entire machine will occupy but little space and may be packed in a small case for transportation or storage.

Eeneath the forward ends of the key-levers K extends the letter-space bar E, preferably supported at one end by a spring c, and to the free end of this space-bar is pivoted a dog D, extending downwardly therefrom and provided with teeth (Z at its lower end. Centrally pivoted in the upper face of the frame F is a lever V, whose forward end engages the dog I) to throw it outward to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1; but said forward end is held in its normal position by a spring r. The rear end of the lever V stands above one (preferably the left-hand) edge of the frame F, and may be held in abnormal position by being engaged behind a catch 1;.

When the frame has traveled upon the slotted bars from the left-hand side bar I over the book to the righthand side bar I and a line of writing has been made thereon, the left-hand edge of the frame. F is grasped by the operator, and his hand simultaneously engages the rear free end of the lever V and moves it from its normal position at the same time that he moves the entire frame F of the type-writer back against the left-hand side bar I. The line-levers L are then moved forwardly to turn the wheels \V, and thereby carry the supports S down the book, so as to bring the type-writer in position to write the next line. If desired, the rear ends of the supports S may be also provided with small wheels IV, which will roll over the paper at this time.

The letter D designates a cord, chain, or metallic band, which may be provided to assist the movement of the basket from left to right in making the spaces between the letters. This band leads from the right side of the basket, where it is attached, and passes over and around a roller or drum M, journaled in brackets rising from the right-hand side bar I and actuated by a spiral spring N, and when the basket is retracted to commence a new line the band D is unwound from the drum M and the spring N is wound up. The tension of the spring as it uncoils exerts a force, pulling the basket to the right and assisting the above mechanism in making the letter-spaces. The rear bars 0, as above stated, slide beneath the rear edge of the frame F, and guide-wheels A are preferably employed to retain these bars in their proper positions, said guide-wheels being provided with circumferential grooves a and being journaled in studs U, projecting downwardly from the frame F. The forward slotted bars 0 are similarly guided over guide-wheels A, having grooves a and supported by studs II; but these forward guide-wheels in their grooves are provided with teeth, which are of a size and shape to exactly engage with the teeth on the lower edge of the forward slotted bars 0 and the forward supplcmen tal bar 0.

()ne of the guide-wheels A is slightly longer than the other, its forward projection G bein g provided with a groove which has ratchetteeth, as shown, and its forward end being preferably supported by an additional stud or hearing 21 The dog D is so arranged above this projection O that every time a key is depressed the letter-space bar E will force the dog D downwardly and cause its in clined teeth (Z, which engage the teeth in the groove of the projection O, to turn said projectlon; and as this projection turns, being integral with or fast on the axle of the guide-wheel A, the teeth in one of the grooves a in said wheel, which engage the teeth in the lower edge of the slotted bar 0, will cause said slotted bar to move relatively to the wheel, and hence to the frame F and the whole printing mechanism of the type-writer, whereby the basket will be moved one step to the right over the paper, so that the next type will strike the paper in the proper position to the right of the letter last printed.

In order to hold the basket against lateral movement, I provide a finger 5, which depends from the space-bar E and passes beneath the rack 0. At each depression of a key this finger is pressed downwardly out of engagement with said rack, and the carriage is thereby permitted to move one space, as above described. W'hen the end of the line has been reached and the dog Dis moved to the left, it also moves a rod 1, which is loosely connected to the dog by an eye 2, is guided in a bracket 4, and is provided with a wedge 3, standing beyond the finger 5. It will be seen that by this arrangement when the dog D moves to the left the wedge 3 is drawn beneath the finger and the latter is thrown out of engagement with the rack, and the frame and basket can then be moved to the left, as will be understood. I preferably extend two of the end levers K forward of the bank of keys and connect them by a bar Z, which, when depressed, will act on the letter-space bar E and move the frame precisely as it would be moved if a key were depressed, except that in this instance no letter is printed upon the paper, and by this means I am enabled to make the spaces necessary between the words.

The ribbon R above referred to passes over rollers r, as'shown in Fig. 1, and at a suitable point through an ink-reservoir 10, supported by standards 9 upon the frame F. \Vithin the reservoir 10 is a shaft 11, over which the ribbon passes, as will be understood, and on one end of the shaft, outside the reservoir, is

a gear-wheel 12. A bar 13 has a point 14:, which engages the teeth on this gear-wheel, the latter being held against retrograde movement by a detent 16, and the other end 15 of the bar 13 rests beneath the letter-space bar E, the bar being centrally supported on a pivot through the upper end of a short standard 16 rising from the frame. By this construction it will be seen that every time the bar E is depressed the shaft 11 within the reservoir is turned slightly, and the inkingribbon is therefore fed forward a small distance. 1

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. I11 a type-writer, the combination, with the main frame, the basket, and the type levers and keys carried thereby, said type-levers being adapted to operate downwardly through the open bottom of the basket, of a supplementary frame-work supporting said main frame, and means, substantially as described, for automatically moving said frame laterally upon said frame-work and for manually moving said frame-work over the paper at right angles to said lateral movement, as set forth.

2. In a type-writer, the combination, with the main frame, the basket, and the type levers and-keys carried thereby, said type-levers being adapted to operate downwardly through the open bottom of the basket, of a supplementary pair of lateral bars provided with notches, the main frame resting upon said lateral bars, side bars connecting the ends of said lateral bars, supports for supporting said side bars, and a pawl and notched wheel operated by the type and space levers and connected with the notches in said lateral bars, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a type-Writer, the combination, with the main frame, the basket, and the type levers and keys carried thereby, said type-levers being adapted to operate downwardly through the open bottom of the basket, of the side supports, the side bars, the slotted bars extending inwardly from each end of said side bars and provided with notches on their lower edges, the intermediate notched bars between the adjacent inner ends of said slotted bars, lugs at the ends of said intermediate bars loosely engaging the slotted bars, guidewheels carried by said frame and engaging the notches in said bars, and a pawl operated by the type and space levers and engaging said guide-wheel, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a type-writer, the combination, with the supports S, having the upwardly-extendin g toothed bars 5, of the side bars I, the pawls' P, carried thereby and engaging said toothed bars, the lateral bars connecting the ends of said side bars, and the main frame, basket, and type levers and keys supported by said lateral bars, substantially as described.

5. In a type-writer, the combination, with the main frame, the basket, and the type levers and keys carried thereby, said type-levers being adapted to operate downwardly through the open bottom of the basket, of the supplemental frame, the side supports S for supporting said supplemental frame, wheels W in said supports, and levers for turning said wheels, as and for the purpose set forth.

'6. I11 a type-writer of the character described, the combination, with the printing mechanism and the supporting frame-work, of the side supports S, the wheels W, journaled therein and provided with polygonal peripheries, the ratchet-wheels 'w, keyed to the shafts of said wheels W, and the linespace levers L, journaled on said shafts and engaging said ratchet-wheels, as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a type -writer of the character described, the combinationpvith the supporting mechanism, of the printing mechanism, the main frame F, carrying said printing mechanism, the studs U U, depending therefrom, the guide-wheels A and A, journaled in said studs, one of said guide -wheels having a toothed projection O, the additional stud u, in which the free end of said projection is pivoted, the space-bar Z, and the dog D, connecting said bar with said projection 0, substantially as described.

8. Ina type-writer, the combination, with the letter-space bar E and the rack O, of the finger 5, depending from said bar and engaging the rack, the dog D, the lever V for operating it, the rod 1, connected to said dog and passing through said finger, and the wedge 3 at the free end thereof, all substantially as and for the purpose described.

9. In a type-writer, the combination, with the reservoir 10, a shaft 11, journaled through the same, a gear-wheel 12 on one extremity thereof, and the endless ribbon R, passing through said reservoir over guide-rollers r on the frame, of the bar 13, having point Ll at one end engaging said gear, said bar being centrally pivoted at 16 and having its other end engaging some reciprocating part of the machine, all as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DANIEL O. BORUFF.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM H. MARTIN, CHARLES N. TRUEBLOOD.

IIO 

